Raspberry Pi passes CE and FCC regulations

At the end of March the Raspberry Pi Foundation hit a major roadblock stopping them actually shipping the beta version of the $35 PC. Both distribution partners, RS Components and element14/Premier Farnell, refused to ship the device because it hadn’t obtained CE marking.

That CE mark confirms the device in question conforms to European Economic Area directives and legislation. There are also equivalents to it for other regions such as the U.S., Canada, and Australia, which the tiny machine hadn’t been tested for. The Foundation had assumed, wrongly, that the unfinished version of the Raspberry Pi didn’t need such standards on the box, but it has since been confirmed otherwise.

So a week of hard work and the loss of one Easter weekend in the lab later, and the Raspberry Pi now has passed the relevant tests to gain CE marking. Not only that, but the team managed to pass FCC regulations, CTick for Australia, and the relevant requirements for Canada, too.

All the testing was carried out in a Panasonic lab located in South Wales with the help of Gainspeed and EMC consultants. The result is a lot of successful tests, but now a lot of paperwork to do and get signed off by both RS Components and element14/Premier Farnell.

Once that is out of the way I am really hoping that Raspberry Pi units will start shipping and we can finally get our hands on the tiny PC. To say this has been frustrating for everyone involved, especially those at the Raspberry Pi Foundation, is an understatement.